Consolidates And Updates Merger Rules

In September, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) published for consultation a draft regulation consolidating and updating its merger notification rules. Key points in the draft are:

• Interrelated transactions are treated as one concentration for China merger control purposes. This means that (consistently with previous MOFCOM decisions in such cases) parties need to notify before they implement the first of the interrelated transactions, although it does not in itself meet the filing threshold, as long as the overall transaction does.
• Turnover for joint ventures:  The turnover of an entity jointly controlled by a number of undertakings involved in the concentration is to be apportioned equally among the controlling business operators.